The Financial Crisis: This Day—One Year Ago, Sept. 5

Government data show the August joblessness rate is the highest since the summer of 2003, and the glum news seems to rattle every spoke of the financial hub.

This Day 1 Year Ago - A CNBC Special Report - See Complete Coverage

The financial crisis and the economic one may be melding into one.

Bond market strategist and frequent CNBC blogger Tony Crescenzi of Miller Tabak says the jobs report "reinforces the idea...that the U.S. economy is about to enter a dark period, with economic activity slipping substantially from the second quarter's 3.3% pace and perhaps set to contract in the fourth quarter."

Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight, sees housing as the next domino—but not the last:

Meanwhile, the Treasury is cementing plans to backstop mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , as they cope with billions of dollars of losses from bad loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. Pimco's Bill Gross tells CNBC that such government intervention is a "needed step." (See the entire Gross interview, below.)

Merrill Lynch shares tumble some 4 percent, after Goldman Sachs cuts its rating on the brokerage to "sell," predicting a fresh wave of writedowns are coming.

The Dowand the S&P 500eke out gains by the closing bell, but all three indexes still finish off sharply for the week: The Dow loses 2.8 percent, the S&P slips 3.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaqskids 4.7 percent.

Analysts say techs have heavier exposure to the global economy — and thus the global slowdown that has worried the market this week. Indeed, the CBOE Volatility Index, a well-regarded measure of fear in the market, jumped 12 percent this week.